The famous “ossuary swallows of Verdun”

You’ve probably never heard of the world-famous “Ossuary Swallows of Verdun” – but I predict in a generation you will!

Very recently a huge and impressive ossuary was erected on a hilltop in Verdun, as a memorial to the tragic lives that were taken in World War I.  The ossuary looks incredible from a distance:

It also looks incredible close-up:

It looks even more incredible inside – but since it is a religious site I chose not to photograph the inside, which includes a chapel.

But back to the swallows.  The entrance to this huge building is open, and a huge flock of swallows seems to have taken advantage of this as their new home.  As you walk in and out, supersonic sparrows travelling faster than the speed of sound buzz by your head almost too fast for you to see them.

They are easy to spot if you look out over the cemetery,  since the skies are filled with them:

It took me about 30 tries with my mobile phone camera, but last I was able to capture one of these hypersonic birds in flight:

You can see the little fellow racing out of the building, just to the center of left and towards the bottom.